


set me on fire

by JennaTalbot



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/F, Social Media AU, Tinder, implied alcohol use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 16:17:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20156464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennaTalbot/pseuds/JennaTalbot
Summary: Wylan snorted. “Jes, it’s Tinder.”Jesper looked affronted. “This could be Nina’s chance at a true love to rival ours, and you scoff at her?”“Excuse me, I am right here,” Nina said grumpily, still trapped between the two boys. “And I do not need Tinder to find true love. It’s just for fun and she just happens to be cute.”





	set me on fire

“Nina, please, we have to go,” Jesper whined from the doorway again.

She waved her hand absentmindedly in his direction, not bothering to look up from lone message on her phone. “Yeah yeah, one minute. It’s not like we’re going to be late, we  _ are _ the party.”

Instead of a response, Jesper crossed the room in two long strides and plucked the phone from her grasp, holding it above his head, which was far above hers.

“Hey!” She exclaimed as she jumped up, but it was useless. “God damn you for being taller than a giraffe,” she muttered under her breath.

“And twice as cute,” Wylan chimed in as he descended the staircase.

Nina flipped her hair, careful not to disrupt the curls she had painstakingly placed there. “If he’s twice as cute, he’s at least three times as awkward.”

“You wound me,” Jesper moaned, dramatically placing the hand holding Nina’s phone over his heart. “And on my own birthday—” 

Seeing her opportunity, Nina darted in and grabbed the device from him, laughing in triumph. “I win!” She called in a singsong.

“Just go put your shoes on,” Wylan said as he rolled his eyes. 

Nina grinned, still thrilled with her victory, but crossed over to the front door to strap on a pair of red stilettos. They were just the right pop of color to accompany her black dress, which she had picked especially for this occasion, along with her vibrant red lipstick. 

“You know,” Jesper said from where he was now leaning against the staircase, “All you had to do was put those on and you probably could have reached your phone.”

Nina winked at him. “Ah, but tricking you for it was that much more satisfying.” Wylan let out a bark of laughter as Jesper flashed her a look like a dog who had been left in the rain for too long. “Anyways, I’m ready. Let’s go,” she proclaimed, but walked into the bathroom to do a final lipstick check as she said it. 

Jesper and Wylan were both used to this routine by now, and they waited at the door patiently. Or, Wylan waited patiently. Jesper was practically bouncing out of his skin with excitement.

When Nina finally emerged from the bathroom, the three set out. Jesper locked the door behind them and handed the key to Wylan. 

“I don’t even live here, why do I have to keep track of the key?”

Nina and Jesper looked at each other, and then burst out laughing. “Oh please,” Nina said at the same time Jesper responded with, “Well you are the most responsible.”

Wylan let out a heavy sigh, but slipped the key into the pocket of his khakis. Together, they started off towards the club where Jesper had arranged to have his party. 

“So Nina…” Jesper said suggestively, as he looped an arm through hers. Wylan crossed to her other side to mirror his boyfriend on Nina’s other arm so there was no escape. “Tell me more about Tinder girl. Do you think she’s going to be here?”

Nina groaned. “I knew telling you about that was a mistake.”

Jesper continued, undeterred by her tone. “That was what you were doing, right? Waiting for Tinder girl to message you back? Again?” 

Wylan nudged her side. “Fine, yes. I was waiting to see if she’d been on recently.”   
  
“And?”

Nina shook her head. “She wasn’t.”

“This,” Jesper announced dramatically, “Is a modern day tragedy of Shakespearian proportions.”   
  
Wylan snorted. “Jes, it’s Tinder.”

Jesper looked affronted. “This could be Nina’s chance at a true love to rival ours, and you scoff at her?”

“Excuse me, I am  _ right _ here,” Nina said grumpily, still trapped between the two boys. “And I do not need Tinder to find true love. It’s just for fun and she just happens to be cute.”

Jesper nodded. “Do we at least get a name, so I can stop calling her Tinder girl?”

Nina hesitated. Telling Jesper would make it seem more real—like Tinder girl was a real person and a real possibility instead of just a picture on a screen. 

“Inej,” she finally responded. 

For a moment, she thought she saw something flicker across Jesper’s face, but then they walked out from under the streetlight they were passing and the look was gone, so she chalked it up to a trick of the light. 

“Inej does sound a lot better than Tinder girl,” he nodded. 

Jesper and Wylan kept up their interrogation for the rest of the walk, and Nina had never been so glad to see the peeling green paint of the Emerald Palace’s doors. As soon as they entered, she broke away as Jesper was called over by someone who yelled his name and thrust a cup of unknown liquid in his direction. 

A small group of people she recognized, and more that she didn’t, all crowded around him the instant he arrived. Jesper was nothing if not popular, and it looked like half of the university had turned out to celebrate with him. Or perhaps to just get drunk and blow off some steam with this as an excuse. 

Nina looked out over the crowd, waiting a few moments for Jesper to get good and distracted before she circled back around and grabbed his arm. 

“Come dance with me, birthday boy, before you get whisked away by your knight in shining armor.”

Jesper glanced at Wylan who smiled and nodded, and Nina pulled Jesper out to the dance floor, weaving through the mass of people in various states of intoxication. 

She didn’t stop until they were dead center, under the hideously garish disco ball that Jesper loved so much. The music was the loudest here, under the speakers, and people pressed in around them on all sides. Nina threw her head back and laughed, feeling like she was truly living her best life as she and Jesper started moving in time with the heavy bass. 

Three or four songs later—Nina lost count—she couldn’t feel her feet any more, and she let Jesper drag her back to the sidelines, where Wylan was deep in conversation with someone. 

Nina passed them to get to the bar, needing some hydration after so much dancing in the sweltering heat of the club. She grabbed a water and headed back towards their group, when she noticed Jesper, a head taller than anyone else in the room, staring at her and grinning his ‘I am about to meddle in something I shouldn’t’ grin. 

“That,” she muttered as she sped up her pace slightly, “cannot be a good sign.”

She reached Jesper, her face wary as he leaned over to yell into her ear over the music. 

“There’s someone here I want you to meet!” He tugged her arm, pulling her through the throng of partygoers. 

On the other side, he tapped someone on the shoulder, and she spun around, clearly startled, but with a grace that enchanted Nina. When the girl was facing her, her jaw dropped. 

“Nina, I’d like you to meet Inej,” Jesper announced with a flourish, his voice ringing above the din. 

The girl, Tinder girl, Inej, nodded with a small smile. “Nice to meet you,” she mouthed. Or maybe she yelled it. Nina couldn’t hear over the bass, or maybe that was the pounding of her own heart?

Jesper elbowed Nina in the ribs and she flinched. “Likewise,” she did her best to yell, and then winced. Who the fuck said likewise?

She felt, rather than saw, Jesper shake his head in what she hoped was fond exasperation. Nina was too busy looking at Inej to pay much attention to her best friend. 

The girl was absolutely stunning in a cream dress that was more conservative than what Nina preferred for herself, but absolutely accented all of Inej’s features. Her dark skin made the color look even more radiant, and her smile matched the color of her dress.

Nina knew then that she would do anything to see that smile again. 

Out of nowhere, Wylan appeared to grab Jesper and drag him off, leaving Nina and Inej alone. Inej shifted, glancing around herself and looking slightly uncomfortable. 

Nina leaned in closer, not enough to be awkward since they had just met and Nina was definitely a little bit in love, but close enough that Inej would be able to hear her. 

“Did you come here with anyone?”

Inej shook her head. “I have English 201 with Jesper, and we were partners for the last research paper. He asked me to come a couple weeks ago.”

For a second, Nina suspected that Jesper had set her up, until she remembered that she had only revealed Inej’s name to him a few hours ago. She touched her hair self consciously, before running a finger under her eye to check for mascara smudges. 

“It’s hot in here, I was going to step outside for a few minutes. Did you want to come with?” Nina asked, trying her best to sound casual despite her heart crawling up her throat.

Inej flashed that small smile again. “Sure, I’d love to.”

Nina led the way out, through the peeling doors, to the sidewalk out front. The night was in full swing and most people were still inside, despite the few people loitering—getting air like they were, or smoking. There was one guy lying against the building who was probably, hopefully, sleeping. She threw her head back, revelling in the cool breeze that tickled her skin.

“So, how do you know Jesper?” Inej asked once the doors swung closed, muting the sound of the pounding music within. 

“We’re roommates,” Nina replied. “I’ve lived with him for two years now.”

Inej frowned. “I thought he lived with Wylan?”

Nina laughed. “Wylan is our third, unofficial roommate. I don’t know if he remembers the color of the carpet at his own place.”

Inej laughed at that, and Nina felt her heart flutter. “Maybe that’s where I know you from then.”

“What?”   


“I don’t know, you just look really familiar,” she shrugged. “I guess I must have just seen you around with him before or something. I think I would remember if we had a class together.”

Nina’s mind fired in a thousand different directions as it tried to process the fact that Inej knew her from somewhere, that somewhere was probably Tinder, and she had more or less told Nina she was unforgettable. 

“Ah,” she started, not sure if she should tell Inej or not. Nina had swiped right on Inej’s profile almost two weeks ago now—how was she supposed to explain the fact that she still remembered Inej from Tinder, if Inej didn’t remember her from Tinder? In two weeks, Inej hadn’t responded to Nina’s lonely ‘hey :)’. 

But she was here, now, and she didn’t seem uninterested, unless she was just looking for someone to fill the time until it would be socially acceptable for her to leave a party. 

Inej lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow. 

“I think we matched on Tinder,” Nina blurted out before she could think through what she was saying. As soon as the words were out, she started mentally kicking herself. 

Inej’s brows furrowed for a moment and Nina knew she had made a mistake. Then, recognition dawned on her face. 

“My roommate made that for me because she told me I was too lonely, I think I only used it that day,” she explained. Nina felt her heart sink, and it must have shown on her face, because Inej rushed to continue, “It’s just not exactly my scene, meeting people on a hookup app. I don’t really do that. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just...not me.”

Nina nodded, trying to focus on Inej’s words but instead focusing on how she wanted to smooth out the crease in between her eyes and wipe the frown from her face. “That’s fair, and it sounds like your roommate doesn’t know you very well if she made you one anyways.”

Inej shrugged. “She means well.”

“You know, she did pick some really great pictures of you,” Nina commented, and Inej blushed. If Nina hadn’t known she was gone for this girl before, she sure did now. 

“Thanks,” Inej replied, and the two lapsed into an awkward silence. 

It lasted for a long minute, and Nina decided she couldn’t take it anymore. “Hey would you want to—”

“I was just wondering—"

“You first,” Nina offered. 

Inej shifted again, looking slightly uncomfortable, and Nina struggled to keep a light smile on her face, sure that Inej was about to take her leave, delete Tinder, and transfer out of Jesper’s English class.

“Would you maybe…want to get coffee sometime?”

“What?” Nina was sure she had misheard. 

Inej blushed again, clearly embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I just thought…”

“Oh no, no! I would love to go get coffee sometime, I am definitely interested in you, uh, I mean in coffee, in getting coffee, with you,” Nina finished lamely.

Inej laughed lightly. “Okay, I don’t know about you but I think I’m going to want to sleep in tomorrow. But I’m free Monday morning?”   
  
“Monday morning sounds perfect,” Nina replied. She didn’t have class either, but it didn’t matter. She would have skipped a hundred classes for a chance to go on a real life actual date with Inej. She would have said yes regardless. “It’s a date.”   
  
At that, Inej grinned, and Nina felt her heart stutter. On second thought, maybe she should say no to this date. There was a high chance it would be bad for her health. 

Inej held her hand out for Nina’s phone, and she handed it over, noticing a chip in her bright red nailpolish. Inej entered her number into Nina’s phone and handed it back.

Quickly, Nina composed a text and sent it to Inej’s phone, a small thing in a purple case that chirped happily when the message came through. 

“There, now you have mine as well.”

Inej smiled, then rubbed her hands on her crossed arms. “It’s getting a little chilly out now, what do you say we go back inside and dance more?”

Nina was sure her heart had just ascended to some astral plane somewhere. “I would absolutely love to,” she said, holding out her arm to Inej, and the two walked back inside, arm in arm.   
  


**Author's Note:**

> This is the first thing I've written in literal ages, which I feel like I say a lot here so bear with my sporadic writing motivation I guess. At least I always come back? If you liked it, kudos/comments are highly appreciated, and you can find me @stadwatch on tumblr.
> 
> This was written for @sixofcrowsnet Social Media AU heist!


End file.
